meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
Coaching for Leaders

588: How to Help Your Manager Shine, with David Gergen

Coaching for Leaders

Dave Stachowiak

Education, Business, Management, Self-improvement, Careers

4.81.6K Ratings

🗓️ 1 August 2022

⏱️ 29 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

David Gergen: Hearts Touched With Fire David Gergen has served as a White House adviser to four US presidents of both political parties: Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton. He then served as the editor of US News & World Report. For the past two decades, he has served as a professor of public service and founding director of the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School. David is also a senior political analyst for CNN, where he is a respected voice in national and international affairs. He is the author of Hearts Touched with Fire: How Great Leaders Are Made*. In this conversation, David and I discuss his years working in the White House for four different presidents. We explore what worked for David to be able to support a powerful person in being the best version of themselves. Plus, we discuss how to speak truth to power, the strategy of playing to strengths, and the critical importance of staying aligned with the big picture. Key Points Speaking up means you ensure that your manager has considered alternate perspectives. Be aware of your own shortcomings so you do not bias your own advice. You made need to help a manager overcome their own challenges. Help them play to their strengths. Beware of managing up with arrogance. Instead, create zones and pathways that can help a manager make tough calls. Making a suggestion in a short note can be one way to open up a tough conversation. Keep the bigger, nobler motive in mind at all times. Advocate for that larger vision. Resources Mentioned Hearts Touched with Fire: How Great Leaders Are Made* by David Gergen The Bin Laden Raid: Inside the Situation Room Photo Interview Notes Download my interview notes in PDF format (free membership required). Related Episodes How to Start Managing Up, with Tom Henschel (episode 433) Leadership in the Midst of Chaos, with Jim Mattis (episode 440) How to be Diplomatic, with Susan Rice (episode 456) Your Leadership Motive, with Patrick Lencioni (episode 505) Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Many of us think about managing up, but we don't often consider how to help our manager

0:05.8

to be successful themselves.

0:08.0

In this episode, former presidential adviser, David Gergen, on how to help your manager

0:13.7

to shine.

0:14.9

This is Coaching for Leaders, Episode 588.

0:19.6

Produced by Innovate Learning, Maximizing Human Potential.

0:28.5

Greetings to you from Orange County, California.

0:31.1

This is Coaching for Leaders, and I'm your host, Dave Stohofiak.

0:35.9

Leaders aren't born, they're made.

0:38.2

And this weekly show helps you discover leadership wisdom through insightful conversations.

0:44.1

When we're talking about leadership, we are often thinking about how do we develop the

0:48.6

people well that we are leading in our organization?

0:51.8

How do we help the organization be successful with that team?

0:56.9

Rarely, though, are we thinking about how do we help our manager to succeed?

1:01.9

That's the focus of today's conversation, and I'm so glad to have an expert with us

1:05.9

who's had so much success and helped me contribute to the development and the success of many

1:12.7

organizations, including at the very highest levels of leadership.

1:16.2

I'm so pleased to introduce to you, David Gergen.

1:18.6

He has served as a White House advisor to four U.S. presidents of both political parties.

1:23.6

Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton.

1:27.4

He then served as editor of the U.S. News and World Report, and for the past two decades

1:31.5

he has served as a professor of public service and founding director of the Center for Public

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Dave Stachowiak, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Dave Stachowiak and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.